Who's Shooting with Brevis35 & HVX?

esperman

esperman

Well-known member
Okay, I've played with the PS Technic, and two of my firends have the M2 and really like the results. But I'm still leaning towards the Brevis for two reasons:
1. Less Light Loss
2. Smaller, more integrated look with the camera. (looks better for the agencys)

Who has one? What are your recommendations?
 
I am shooting Brevis/HVX. Not used any other adapter so I can not make comparative comment. Only one little test to share thus far, and I don't think we had the lighting or the HVX setup very well (was CineLike-D, specular highlights clip easily with that preset, and CineLike-D is noisy. BPress next time). I will do some more tests in a few weeks from now. You can see a few clips I did with Steve (StMad), here.

If you have not seen this comparison, Philip Bloom had a play with a few different adpaters, here.

The Brevis interchangeable diffuser is a cool thing. I plan on testing CINEFUSE2 and CINEFUSE3 next. Stock diffuser is CINEFUSE1, and used in my aforementioned test. Dennis, Mr Cinevate, has been very helpful along the way. I am very happy with my Brevis choice.
 
The Brevis has been a great tool to work with so far with the HVX. I've got a friend with the M2 and it has been a difficult set up and the light loss is greater than the Brevis. He's not particularly happy with it. I've been working on a dramatic piece, very low light, and so far the results have been very good. I'll try to get some clips up soon. I did do a test when I first got the Brevis and posted the results here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=69775&highlight=brevis+test
Here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=69879&highlight=brevis+test
And here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=70190&highlight=tracktor
Those tests were done before I had modifications done to the Brevis (the one I have is a Beta version) and were done using Nikon lenses. I now use Canon FD's (I may have some Nikons to sell) which I like better.
Lastly I'll mention that Dennis, who is the creator of the Brevis, is a great guy and very approachable, is intent on getting customer feedback to make the product better and is willing to work with you to make sure you get what you need out of the product. Customer service has been superior.
 
getken said:
The Brevis has been a great tool to work with so far with the HVX. I've got a friend with the M2 and it has been a difficult set up and the light loss is greater than the Brevis. He's not particularly happy with it. I've been working on a dramatic piece, very low light, and so far the results have been very good. I'll try to get some clips up soon. I did do a test when I first got the Brevis and posted the results here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=69775&highlight=brevis+test
Here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=69879&highlight=brevis+test
And here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=70190&highlight=tracktor
Those tests were done before I had modifications done to the Brevis (the one I have is a Beta version) and were done using Nikon lenses. I now use Canon FD's (I may have some Nikons to sell) which I like better.
Lastly I'll mention that Dennis, who is the creator of the Brevis, is a great guy and very approachable, is intent on getting customer feedback to make the product better and is willing to work with you to make sure you get what you need out of the product. Customer service has been superior.
Click to expand...

That's great to hear. I'm leaning towards the Brevis for the same reasons listed above. What improvements do you see with Canon FD over Nikon?
 
I just realized New York has the highest Brevis/per capita ratio in the world :)

Seriously though, if any of you New Yorkers can help Hezues out with an adapter this weekend, call him at 914 774 7162. These guys will get their adapter on Monday, but the shoot is tomorrow! They'll drive anywhere in NY to get it..and I'll throw in a $100 product credit and adapter-safe-return gurantee if you help them out!

Cheers,
Dennis.
 
Does the Brevis soften the focus. I used to own an M2 which I hard-mounted, and whatever was in focus was always very sharp. I didn't use it a lot and ended up selling it a few weeks ago. However I now have 2 projects in the work, which will require a 35mm adaptor. Thus I am looking again, since many companies seem to have made progress and upgrades to their adaptor... However everytime I look at footage shot with the Brevis, it always look slightly out of focus... Why is that???
 
Sharp focus when using in an adapter is a difficult thing...here are XH-A1 grabs straight from the captured MPEG file (included a dirty CF3 diffuser). I've just rotated them. Lens is a 50mm Minolta Rokkor at f 1.4 . Lighting on second shot is one 25 watt CF lamp. A1 preset was "DVXMATCH".

hair.jpg

face.jpg
 
I understand that focus is difficult, and I do understand how a 35mm works, and how each have their pros and cons. When I look at movies or footage that were done using a 35mm adaptor, I don't look for the flows, I just try to enjoy whatever I am watching... It's just that often, when I watch something done with the Brevis, it doesn't look ..."sharp"... And the reason it bother me, is that I am seriously considering the Brevis for my next project. Did you use an acromat lens with the 2 pict you just posted?
Might that be the problem?
 
The latest rev2 units that have shipped since Christmas address several issues that not only allow tuning for max sharpness, but they also remove some of the guesswork in configuring the adapter. On the latest round of adapters, we've increased to a fairly ridiculous level of accuracy by investing heavily in custom built production tools. Richard Darge's review of the adapter was done without reading a shred of the user material...and he has output some great stuff.

This footage was shot using the standard 72mm Cinevate HD achromat. I used a Marshall 7" HDA to set focus. Alone, it's not enough, but the A1 magnify focus assist function nicely outputs externally...which is what I found necessary to get it spot on using the 50mm at f1.4.

Bob Gundu's Brevis footage was shot back in the fall, and the images I saw were excellent. Phil Bloom also did a piece "Homeless Portraits" recently which was extremely well done. There is a production going on in Pakistan right now and although I've viewed zero footage, the DP has emailed with some level of excitement over the images they're getting :) I am extemely confident that anyone who reads the user material, and does their homework testing their lenses, should be able to produce exactly the same stuff. This adapter I was using was randomly pulled off production, then ran for 72 hours straight (testing some internal tweaks) before this shoot. The same applies to the achromat.

The first XH-A1 footage was posted before I had spent any time with the camera, but holy cow, am I ever happy after spending time playing with the presets tethered to an HD monitor :) I'm just thrilled with the cam.
 
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I used to be concerned with the softness of my Brevis also, but it had nothing to do with the Brevis. I wasn't focusing accurately on the GG. Some recent tests with Chris Barry completely alleviated my concerns. Have a look at the 50mm clip on Chris' website (link in 1st reply).

I had a problem with the Nikon mount included with the package (now being exchanged by Dennis) and the adapter has issues with high shutter (now also being corrected...no charge on the service). I believe Dennis has taken care of these issues in the current adapter.

I also have an issue with my brevis-to-rails mount....one of the rubber supports has fallen off and the base rubber is heading in the same direction. I just had a look on the cinevate website...looks like this has been addressed in the new model. The new mount looks sweet. It seems all the issues I have had with the Brevis have been dealt with.

I love the quick setup time. I get out in public plenty, and there's nothing worse for me than wasting time with setup. You don't need to use the rails/mount, but for serious use I wouldn't shoot without it (rack focusing can be tricky without support). I also like the minimal light loss. My most powerful light is a 1k...with any more light loss I'd seriously struggle. For outdoor shooting you must get a couple of nd filters at least. That's a tradeoff I'm happy to negotiate :).
 
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guskersthecat said:
I used a Marshall 7" HDA to set focus. Alone, it's not enough, but the A1 magnify focus assist function nicely outputs externally...
Click to expand...

That's a godsend for adapter users...good thinking Canon.
 
I have got to admit the setup time and the modular approach of he Brevis is extremely attractive. not to mention the light weight.
 
Steve, we'll have the latest Brevis support out next week...it's a hybrid of the solid CNC clamp, and height adjustable too. It will replace the adjustable "yoke". Having focus assist output external (but why not peaking too??) is proving very usefull. With both these shots, I adjusted what I thought was correct focus after stopping recording, and toggling the magnify function.
 
I'm really looking forward to receiving my Brevis package. I reckon it will have all these updates, Dennis? :)
 
CB, already done!

DC, we should have some interesting pics for you in a week or so. I've so, so missed the FF prototype..and it's coming home with a buddy :)
 
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